While many of the contestants started fast, Cope, a Port Huron resident and regular competitor in eating competitions across Michigan, remained consistent throughout, eating 11.5 hot dogs in seven minutes to take home the trophy.

Cope was able to edge out Jackson resident Evan Richards Sr. by two hot dogs and said the key to his success was a strategy that he learned by watching YouTube videos of some of his competitive eating friends.

Instead of eating one hot dog at a time, Cope separated the buns from the hot dogs, squished two or three buns together and dunked them in water before throwing them into his mouth. Then he would eat the multiple separated hot dogs.

“I didn’t know how good I was doing, but I was just focusing on stuffing my face instead of looking around at what everyone else was doing,” he said. “The only way I could get both buns in the glass of water was to squeeze the two of them together. I tried it and it worked pretty well, so I just stuck with it.”

Each contestant was given a tray of 14 hot dogs with a time limit of seven minutes. Cope received a Hot Dog trophy, a black Rudy's shirt, $100 in cash and a $50 certificate to Rudy's for finishing in first place.

Dariann Loynes, Rudy’s Drive-In manager, said the competition was something that she has been trying to put together for a while.

“The thing is July and August slow down a little bit because of vacations and people getting ready for school,” she said. “The idea just kind of came up and there’s no reason we couldn’t do something like this.”

Throughout the competition, Rudy’s Drive-In featured a $1 special on its three new hot dogs it will feature throughout July for National Hot Dog Month.

The Rueben Dog consists of a thousand island sauce, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese, while the Rodeo Dog combines sweet and smoky barbecue sauce with cheese and broken onion rings.

While many in the crowd enjoyed the new hot dogs, Loynes said the Macon Dog, which is bacon, cheese and drizzled maple syrup, has been the biggest hit with employees because of its unique combination of flavors.

Although one competitor failed to show up, Loynes said she was very pleased with how the competition went and is looking forward to making it an annual event.

“What I’m hoping for is that in the years to come it builds and it’s something people look forward to," she said.

Joe Stolp, who finished in third place with 8.5 hot dogs, joked that he won’t be eating hot dogs for a while, but said to sign him up for next year's competition.

“I’m happy with third place considering it was my first time, but of course you want to win it,” he said. “They said it’s annual event, so I’ll definitely be making my appearance next year.”